


I can see it in your eyes

by FernShaw



Series: Lacenet week [4]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Night Terrors, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26414689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FernShaw/pseuds/FernShaw
Summary: Lace and Hornet finally decided to team up after all or thoses fights. But still, it seems that Hornet just can't bring herself to fully trust LaceLacenet week 2020 day 6 : Free day !
Relationships: Hornet/Lace (Hollow Knight)
Series: Lacenet week [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1912600
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	I can see it in your eyes

It has been a few days since the two girls made peace. It was ... A weird adventure they've been through. Lace took a while before acknowledging that fighting against Hornet was simply ... Wrong. A bad idea formed with a desire to protect Hornet from pain and cruelty, but with a good will behind it. She never did anything mischievous against the spider, she simply stated what seemed to be the truth for her. If she continued to climb, she would suffer and die. Ending her suffering was the best thing to do. 

Since the two of them made peace, their relationship became a lot closer very quickly. Lace explained her way of thinking, why did she understood that she was wrong and Hornet forgave her almost instantly. She probably even forgave her too quickly, but she couldn't help it. Killing by pity was something she done before, and she truly regretted it. Her siblings didn't deserve such fate but she never thought that there could be another option than death. 

And so, the two of them even decided to team up. Hornet wanted to live. Lace wanted to both help the spider meet her goal and to fix her errors by making things easier. Both of them were really happy about this alliance, but something felt off. A sort of tension between them undescribable but still here. 

It was just a normal night like any other. The two girls were sleeping together next to a fire they just set up, gaining the well-deserved energy they needed to to continue thei journey. They really had a complicated day, and fought together a lot. Thankfully they made a great team and were really good at understanding each other. Each of their movements and attacks made sure the other wasn't affected, which created a really nice coordination between the two. Still the fights were hard and exhausting. It was probably theses efforts that made Hornet so tense. Or perhaps it was just the overall exhaustion. But one thing was sure : she wasn't able to sleep well. Nightmares just kept getting her awake. Lace kept hearing her moving around on the ground, mumbling and whining. She wasn't really mad about it. The situation they were in was really stressful and she had difficulties to sleep too. So after a while, she just decided to get up to make sure Hornet was alright. She streched and yawned loudly before turning around, only to see that Hornet was now completely awake and staring at her. She felt tense, ready to jump at any movement that the fencer might do. 

"Are you feeling alright ?"

And that was enough to make her break. She hissed loudly and jumped back on her legs before running away from the fire. Lace simply watched the spider run in the nearby forest, still very confused about what just happened. She also got up and started walking towards the direction Hornet ran off to. Leaving her in the dark scared and unprotected was a really bad idea, but she had to be careful not to scare her more. She walked a little while before finding her. 

She looked pitiful, curved into a ball and trembling like a small tiktik. She gasped seeing Lace and froze like a small animal. 

"Hey Hornet. Sorry for earlier. Are you feeling alright ?"

Hornet took a little while before nodding, still staring at Lace. She couldn't help but be petrified, an instinct to flee of an ancient danger still burnt on her mind. Lace finally understood what was wrong. It was a harsh reality, but obvious.

"I'm ... Scary for you. Ain't I ?"

Hornet shivered and backed down without even noticing it. 

"Wha- ... No ! Y-you know I trust you Lace ! B-because ... Because ..."

"You know you have the right to be scared of me, right ?"

Hornet stared at the white lady, barely able to process what did she just say.

"Hornet. I wasn't a good person to you. I literally tried to kill you. I hurt you, I hunted you like a mere prey. I know it's weird for me to say that but ... You probably shouldn't trust me just because I changed my mind on your case. Because I know you still can't trust me. Trust is earned, especially after something like that."

"Lace, it's not imp-"

"What. Do you expect me to accept the idea that "it's in the past, it's not important ?" Look at you Hornet ! Do you see in what state you are right now ?! You might think it's in the past for you, but I can tell that if I rose my pin near you would probably answer with either crying or attacking me. Am I wrong ?"

"No, but-"

"AM I WRONG ?!"

"... No. You're right. I'm scared of you."

Lace slowly let herself fall on her knees with tears in her eyes. She knew it. Such trauma couldn't get erased in just a few days. It was all her fault. No matter how much she loved Hornet and had the best intentions from the start, it didn't meant that she could forget the fact that her first idea in mind was to rip the spider's life out of her body by her own two hands. 

"I'm ... So sorry. I'm sorry Hornet. I'm ..."

"It doesn't mean I don't want to believe in you."

The spider approached the fencer, still trembling. Her breath wasn't regular, and she was barely able to stand up properly. 

"You hurt me. You scarred me, probably for life. I really thought you were going to kill me. But you did that with the best intentions in mind, and you actually tried to understand why was it a bad idea. Not only that, but you decided not only to change your methods but also to stay with me and to protect me from the others that are still hurting me. You saved me, multiple times. And I can see that you truly regret your actions. Right now, my body still reacts badly because ... That's how I learned to behave around you. But the thing is, I appreciate your presence right now. You both scare me and reassure me. It's ... A strange feeling. " 

"But I was a bad person..."

"You weren't. You did bad choices with the best intentions. It doesn't make you a bad person. Only someone confused and lost. And even if my body doesn't understand that you've made a better choice, my mind does. I want to trust you, Lace. Truly. With your current actions, you proved to me that you are trustworthy. If you didn't care about my well being, you simply wouldn't be here with me. I know it's hard to believe such thing. But I allowed you to be ally. Allow me some time to get better."

Lace bit her lip and sighed. She knew Hornet meant thoses words. It hurt to think that even considered killing her such a short time ago, but everything was over now. Healing would take time and efforts. But both of them would be proud of how far they've come. 

Lace gave her hand to the spider with a small smile. 

"You're right. But for now, let's get you to at least be calmer, alright ? You should come back to the fire. A bit of warmth would probably feel a lot more comforting. You don't have to go back to sleep, the goal is mainly to make you feel better. We can even talk for a bit, I'm sure it'll be a good idea for us to get closer. Is that okay with you ?"

Hornet grabbed the hand and got back into her legs. 

"It is."


End file.
